Our World
by aliciajay
Summary: Everything seems normal on the surface, but in reality, it's not. And soon, five girls will find themselves in a world of intrigue, mystery, and above all, magic ... (EDIT IN PROCESS)
1. Chapter 1: Anything But Ordinary

MARIEL

"And now, how would you apply Cramer's rule to this situation ..."

Mariel Celeste didn't even notice as her unruly, long brown curls fell into her emerald-green eyes, which were growing more and more heavy by the second. How was a growing fifteen-year-old supposed to stay awake in _math _class after an almost sleepless night helping her parents for - of all the things in the world - a _party _...

... Along with her fraternal twin sister, Ariel, of course. Who, remarkably, was just as vibrant and alert as she always was. That is, on the surface ... who knew what was going on in that quickly turning mind of hers ... Mariel suppressed a loud yawn and allowed her head to sink down on her open math textbook - which, by the way, suddenly began to look more and more like a comfortable pillow ...

She wanted to forget about everything ... You were supposed to leave behind your problems at home - where they came from. Not bring them into school, where they might affect your grade. That was exactly what Mariel intended to do. Sometimes, it worked unconsciously - but today was not one of those days. She wouldn't be able to handle problems from two places at once. It was too much to think about, too much for her brain to make sense of ... And besides, she was so very, _very_ tired ...

She knew that her usual deadened, depressed expression was that of an adult who had seen too many things, in too short a time. It should not have been on someone as young as her. But Mariel couldn't help it. The sadness - the _darkness_ - she was certain, was apparent in her face all the time, even when she smiled. All the time. Why no one ever noticed, was beyond her - because she always felt that way. She could never stop the past from catching up to her. She _lived _with it, every day. And sometimes, she just wanted to forget all of it. Forget anything had ever happened. Forget all the unbearable sorrow that had chosen to rest upon herself, Ariel, and what remained of her family ...

No matter how bad things got, though, she did not think of suicide. It was simply not the way - and whenever her brain brought it up, during particularly difficult times of her life, Mariel would remember her family and all her friends. No matter how little was there left to lose, there were still people she loved and who loved her, and she had to keep living for them, if nothing else ...

And she just wanted to sleep it off now, like one would sleep off a hangover. Usually Mariel took refuge in books and learning - immersing herself in ancient tomes, realizing what difficulties those great people in history had braved successfully, gave her hope to someday follow in their footsteps. But right now, she was tired. And besides, a certain scar on her right wrist had begun to throb rather painfully, so she couldn't really write much anymore, even if she wanted to ... Despite the small stabs of pain, Mariel felt her eyelids droop and her head tilt dangerously towards the flat surface of her desk ...

A rather sharp yank on one of her curls suddenly jolted Mariel awake, and she turned to glare at a positively beaming Arianna Springfield, who was nonchalantly twirling long black locks around one finger whilst writing, whistling, and staring off into space. Mariel was not convinced, of course. In a seat beside them, normally stoical Belladonna Rivers had her grey eyes cast downwards, trying (albeit somewhat unsuccessfully) to muffle her frenzied giggles in her long auburn braid, which, as she soon found, was looped around her chair leg by an impish-looking, tousle-headed boy behind her. She turned around to give the pleased boy a piece of her mind.

On the other end of the room, a bunch of (rather good-looking) boys were playing basketball with balls of paper and their hoods as hoops, and Juliette Adams, a petite and pretty brunette, was smiling admiringly at them all. Despite herself, Mariel struggled not to laugh at the boys' comical expressions (especially when they caught sight of Juliette), but almost wishing she could have joined them too. Boys were just so funny sometimes, and made great friends. But not "friends" as in the way Ariel saw it ... that was different. Going out with a boy, even if he happened to be one of the handsomest guys in the school, was still taking it too far, Mariel thought.

Ariel didn't think so, however. With her crystal-clear, shrewd green eyes (the only thing she had in common with Mariel), delicate features, an almost queenlike air, and the smarts to prove it, Ariel loved the attention she received, which she did rightfully deserve. Mariel, meantime, was just pushed off to the side. Though she did make good grades, her looks passed for just "okay" at best, and she was not the most outgoing or fashion-oriented of people, unlike Ariel. All those things, which were "everything" to the popular kids, simply did not cut it for Mariel. It was not in her comfort zone. Thus, she was content to occupy the backwaters of the popular kids' pond.

"Whoever's whistling, please stop," said an irritated Mrs. Stellah from the front of the classroom, in her annoyance scraping the chalk just a bit too hard across the board to produce a loud squeak. Mariel, about to drop off again, was rudely roused once more, and the whole class jumped as a body.

Mrs. Stellah turned around, looking extremely tired.

"Look, this class is only as good as the people within it. That means the teacher ... and the students. You all made it into this Honors PreCalculus class fair and square. Now show me you deserve to continue with this class, instead of being bumped back down to normal mathematics." The class's antics subsided as suddenly as they had begun, and the class continued on in relative peace and quiet, with the occasional volunteer to answer (or ask) difficult questions. Mariel felt herself doze off again, but Arianna's annoying hair yanks kept her awake for the rest of the class period.

At least, from all those distractions learning and her friends posed, she wouldn't be able to think about all those other things ...

The bell rang for lunch, and Mariel staggered out of her physics class, painstakingly walked for several minutes, then finally collapsed with a tortured moan onto the sparse, soft green grass, which only thinly covered the rocky soil underneath and was quickly yellowing in the now chilly November air.

"Ow," Mariel complained from the ground, but didn't move. Luckily, she didn't get trampled from the hordes of hungry students rushing to the cafeteria. (Which was why Mariel brought - made - her own lunch every day). Arianna, Belladonna, and Juliette made their way over from the cafeteria (without Ariel, mind, who was with her boyfriend) and saw Mariel, with Arianna the first to react. With a long, drawn-out and overly dramatic gasp, she nearly dropped the tray she was holding and rushed over to Mariel.

"Oh, no, no, no, Mariel! No! No, my dearest, NO!"

"I'm ... I'm afraid my time has come to an end," wheezed Mariel in turn, trying to keep a straight face.

Arianna drew back looking shocked. "You're not supposed to be talking! You're supposed to look as though you're about to faint or something!"

"Yes, yes, and I'm the queen of England," Mariel sighed, getting up (rather slowly and painfully) to a round of applause from Juliette and Belladonna.

"What a beautiful show!" Juliette gasped in wonder. "You must explain to me the secret of how the dying - er - _Mordred_ was completely healed in that one final, loving dialogue!"

"And also how Arianna can be so heartless a person!" Mariel quipped, to much laughter.


	2. Chapter 2: Secrets

ARIEL

Around 2:30 P.M. as usual, school let out, and everyone began rushing towards the school gates.

Ariel Celeste hung behind a particularly tall, willow-like tree near the center of the school, out of sight of the school exit, watching everyone go by. All those students looked so eager to get back home. They seemed to have so much fun, and looked so carefree - who knew, they might be going home to meet loving parents, playful siblings, a calm environment in which to study and bolster their grades.

That was not the case for Ariel and her twin Mariel. Far from it, in fact.

Which was why Ariel always approached the end of the day with an impending sense of doom.

If her family wasn't the worst in the world, it was in the top ten. No one would ever believe her if she told them - no one, because no one could accept the idea that such a pretty, smart, and popular girl could have withstood so much. So she didn't tell anyone - not even Darien, her boyfriend of who knew how many years ... Only Mariel knew the truth, and for that Ariel was grateful yet guilty at the same time. At least there was someone who had actually lived through it all with her and understood her.

Ariel wouldn't have wished harm upon anyone. But a small part of her was secretly happy that Mariel had had to endure the same things too.

And that scared her. She didn't know she was capable of such ... such _evil _thoughts.

If it wasn't every day, then it was most days they might come home to a dark house reeking of booze. Every time Ariel stepped inside (with Mariel) they would have to avoid the broken shards of wine bottles littering the floor - usually debris from last time's (or the morning's fight).

It was Mother, who, since the deaths of her mother and brother some years back, had increasingly turned to alcohol for comfort. It didn't help, and she never seemed to get enough of it, wasting the family's money to pay for it. She didn't even go to work anymore, and Ariel thought she'd probably been fired. Every day when Ariel came home she'd be greeted by her the horrendous sight of her depressed mother, who would usually be surrounded by a mound of tissues and empty beer bottles. And every day, at that exact time, Ariel would feel a sob welling up in her throat, and run up to her room, her only refuge from the harsh reality down below. How she wished she could help her mother. She really wanted to, so badly. But the one time she'd tried, two years ago, she'd ended up with a deep gash running vertically across her left shoulder from a shard of glass her mother had thrown at her in a drunken frenzy. The scar was still there. Ariel always covered it up and no one knew about it (except Mariel, who had also sustained similar injuries), but it would always throb whenever Ariel experienced emotional stress.

Given the circumstances, it was quite often.

Father had not been an alcoholic, unlike Mother, and he did appreciate what the girls did, encouraging them to get better grades and a good future. And the little money he made as an office clerk had helped support the family for a time. But soon, he began spending increasing amounts of time away from home, probably because he didn't want to be depressed seeing Mother all the time. And then, one month ago, he suddenly left and never came back. Just like that. Almost without explanation at all - but Mariel and Ariel had found proof in a note within their father's desk drawer.

The note had said, "I'm very sorry, but I fear I cannot return home any longer. I hope you know what I mean. Please tell Ariel and Mariel that they have been the best of daughters all these years, and that I love them dearly, but I simply cannot go on like this any longer."

Upon seeing the note, Mother had collapsed into a chair next to her favorite bottle of booze, and drunk until she had fallen asleep. Sometimes, Ariel would think she had seen that coming, otherwise she wouldn't have been too calm about it. Later they all found out that Father had found a new wife someplace else - and Ariel and Mariel hated her. Mother, too, shared those same feelings. On that one day when the woman had come to their house to spite them, Mother looked on the verge of braining her with an empty bottle, had not Mariel and Ariel restrained their mother.

And since then, life on the surface had seemed to pick up again - at least, it had come to a standstill instead of going increasingly downhill. Mother had picked herself up somewhat since the visit from that other woman, for whom Mariel and Ariel secretly devised the most horrible names. At any rate, Mother didn't drink as much anymore. But she did begin holding parties at her house - parties with lots and lots of alcohol. It was at one of these parties that she met (and soon married) the man who called himself Ariel and Mariel's father. His name was Marcus.

Not long after, Marcus had moved into the house, and Ariel and Mariel had learned to become much, much more sneaky - for their new father was dangerous. He was kind to them on the surface, in front of Mother, whom he always seemed to treat kindly and who clearly loved him. But the looks he shot the sisters were terrifying, and they had no idea what he might possibly be capable of. Luckily, though, since Mother was usually present, Ariel and Mariel did not have to find out.

For now, at least.

Ariel and Mariel had made especially sure to pester her all the time about her plans, so they would know exactly when Mother would - or would not - be home.

And today, Mother was leaving to play backgammon with her old friends.

Which meant ... _Marcus would be home. _

_ He would be waiting for them._

And ... he also knew where they went to school.

This called for some drastic action. Ariel had a twin sister to find, and a conniving stepfather to evade.

Already, she felt years older than she already was.


	3. Chapter 3: Plans

ARIANNA

Arianna Springfield left English class, the usual spring in her step now gone, a crumpled paper that was the instructions for the fall project clutched in her nerveless fingers. She was certain she was wearing a dazed expression on her half-numb face. Thank goodness she didn't - and probably never - would have a boyfriend (what was the use of that when you could just be the awesomest friends with all the handsome troublemakers in the class?) because whoever he might be would have died at the sight of her utterly beautiful face today. School was over for the day at last though. That allowed her time to plan.

After all, she still could not believe her English teacher, Ms. Donnell - the nicest of all people! - would assign a group project due in _three days _(and a detention - which Arianna would rather not think about). With individual essays, a presentation, and plenty of paperwork thrown into the bargain. That is, along with studying for the math test on Friday, the history research paper, and mounds of physics homework to boot.

All right, so she _might _just have procrastinated a bit too much (being the Master Procrastinator of all procrastinators) ... also maybe, just maybe, been a little too distracted trying to distract the teacher from passing out the Literature test (now _that _was complicated - it involved an apple, several crumpled-up balls of paper, the spring from a pen, and a lot of background noise ... and failed anyway, but that was beside the point) ... or she might just have spent a little too much time finalizing her plan of sneaking off campus during lunch to retrieve her PE clothes. And all day she'd been looking out the open window and debating whether she should throw her school books (and herself) out of it ...

And people wondered why she was one (1) of the smartest people in the school, for crying out loud.

Arianna sighed. Sometimes she just hated being a student. It was the hardest job in the world. Unless you know how to make it fun, of course - she could have taught several seminars on how _exactly _to make your high school years _fun._

Perhaps she would be a teacher when she grew up - having understood what students went through, she might give them a break every once in a while ...

But back to reality. _The Project. _The word was practically taboo - whenever a teacher assigned a project there was bound to be trouble. Actually, _anything _a teacher assigned was bound to be trouble.

Still, the magic word was _group. _And the groups were not assigned. Which meant ... Arianna could always work with Ariel, Mariel, Belladonna, and Juliette.

It would be just perfect. Five friends working happily together - who knew, they might even finish in a day or two! (Provided Arianna didn't make them laugh themselves silly first.)

The question now was ... where _was _everyone?

It was just totally Arianna to be slow that day. (Which was why, her beautifully thought up plans had all failed that day, earning her a record _one _detention! Really, she was slipping!) Why hadn't she thought of that earlier? Now how could she find her friends -

- Oh yes. Time to whip out the ever-present, all-dependable Cell Phone, a hardworking student's best friend - but not confidante, of course. Who cared if any administrators passed by? It was, after all, the end of school. Quickly, Arianna texted each of her friends to meet her in front of the school library. That is, if they had not _left _yet, thanks to Arianna's world-famous slowness ...

Thankfully, no. Ariel and Mariel showed up first. Arianna was always surprised how little like sisters - Ariel with the straight and primly arranged dark brown hair and perfectly toned skin that Arianna wished she had herself; Mariel, meanwhile, with messy brown locks and a general wild look about her, but often seeming the more serious of the two. The only thing they shared between them was the piercing green eyes. Oh yes, and an uncanny ability to be annoyed with Arianna at the best of times - wait, many many people were often annoyed with Arianna ... That was also beside the point. The two were fraternal twins, after all, which explained their differences.

Today, though, they both looked worried in the extreme as they walked towards her, appearing to be talking in hushed voices. Arianna decided now was not the time to crack jokes or sic Spongebob.

"Hey," she said, waving her hands in front of the twins' faces. They didn't respond. "What's up with you two today? You look like you've been carrying an anvil all day long." All right, so she couldn't resist that one bit.

"Oh, it's nothing," Ariel said, suddenly giving a falsely cheerful smile that did nothing to mask her depressed expression. Her smile wavered even as she plastered it on. Mariel tried to follow Ariel's lead, with even more disastrous results - she simply looked like she was grimacing - but a thousands times worse.

What had happened?

They were doing such a valiant job of hiding it, that Arianna's heart bled for them right then. She was torn between prying so she could honestly help them, or just going on as though nothing had happened.

Then Belladonna and Juliette showed up, and Arianna had to tell them all about the project anyway, throwing in a suggestion about everyone going to her house for the day to work everything out.

To her utter surprise, Ariel and Mariel brightened up and actually looked hopeful at the suggestion.

"Could we really stay at your house today?" So ... wait ... was this all about finding a place to stay, then? Something must have happened at home, and they couldn't find anywhere to go ... Arianna decided not to scroll through possibilities at the moment.

"Of course," she said graciously. "All of you are always welcome."

The twins gave collective sighs and looked so utterly relieved that Arianna felt worried about them, despite herself. What could have happened so that they wouldn't even want to go home?

That made five of them all at Arianna's house. Personally, Arianna didn't mind, and she knew her parents wouldn't, either. Mother and Father usually weren't home until late at night, when they got back from work, and they wouldn't mind a few friends coming over as long as Arianna was able to accomodate them.

To be honest (though she would never admit this to anyone) she was always scared to be at home alone, even though her house was the nicest in the neighborhood. Actually, because her house was the nicest - there was the constant fear of robbers. Not to mention the fact that she was lonely in the extreme. Arianna often wished she could have a sibling or two, someone to stick with, even if just at home - someone to be close to, like Ariel and Mariel were close. Even Juliette and Belladonna had younger siblings to take care of, and that was nice too. Being an only child had advantages - sure, you didn't have to change your baby brother's diapers all the time - but when things came down to it there really was no one you could be close to, when your parents were away from home practically all the time, leaving you to be independent. Independence was fine, but it weighed heavily on the mind sometimes. Actually, a lot of the time - a lot of the time, independence meant getting lost and finding your way back all on your own.

And so, Arianna thanked heaven every day for her small group of friends, whom she thought of as the sisters she'd never had. Sure, she couldn't tell them everything - she didn't even tell her parents everything, as if she had the opportunity to - but they were the closest to siblings she'd ever found. (Plus she could goof up around them and be utterly gregarious - something she was very good at.) And for having them as friends, she was grateful.

"So, to my house it is then?" she said, managing a cheerful tone. Everyone agreed.


	4. Chapter 4: Quiet

**Hey again! I'm glad I was able to update sooner - I'm not sure if I can manage updates this fast in the future. I know you are all wondering what in heck all this may have to do with DragonFable. Sorry, but I really need to build up the plot a little bit and introduce all the characters and make sure they aren't Mary Sues like they are turning out to be in my other stories D: Anyway, I expect the action to pick up much more quickly in the next few chapters, so stay tuned!**

**Ahah this chapter is much shorter I know, I'll see if I can make subsequent ones a bit longer! :D Thanks to all you readers! You are what makes my stories possible!**

BELLADONNA

Belladonna Rivers made her way across the school courtyard, which was swarming with students even though it had been ten minutes since the bell rang. _Oh yeah, that's right, the sports people have practice today. _Belladonna gave a nearly inaudible sigh as she glanced at her own skinny, lanky self. _She _certainly was in no state to play any sports. In fact, she'd have to be careful not to lose to much weight. Belladonna was always the weakest, both at home and at school, which was especially strange in her sports-oriented family. Her mother, for instance, could have made it to the Olympics playing tennis if she hadn't decided to settle down and become a pharmacist to start a family.

_I'm just like the flower I'm named after - all willowy and slender. That's just appearance. Hope I'm not poisonous, though ..._

Belladonna almost smiled to herself at that. Poisonous she certainly could not (and did not want to) be, but being a little tougher and more resilient was certainly in order for her. It would definitely help her push through the dense crowds of students blocking her way to her locker, for one thing. Strength was something she desperately needed right now - both emotionally and physically. Belladonna had been fortunate to have a whole, united and stable family, but who knew what challenges tomorrow might bring, and she wasn't sure she could hold up against any major difficulties that might choose to present themselves sooner or later.

The one thing she _was _good at, though, was school in general. Many people, especially the sporty people who often practiced till late at night before getting to do homework - those people envied Belladonna her stellar grades. What they didn't know, though, was that Belladonna secretly envied them right back. What she wouldn't give to have a nice, active life like them, instead of constantly being cooped up at home because she was too weak to even run half a mile without being utterly exhausted.

After five minutes of "Excuse me"s (gosh, she even needed a stronger _voice_) and "Sorry"s Belladonna managed to get past a particularly loud throng - the popular kids' clique - and once she'd passed them into quieter territory, she was surprised to hear her phone ringing softly to announce an incoming text message. Who could be texting her at this hour, when she was still at school? Oh - it was just Arianna, summoning her. Odd - Arianna didn't usually text while at school. That girl was just drop dead funny, and an all around (secret) rulebreaker, but for some reason she never pulled out her phone during school hours. (Oh wait - that was because the school blocked phones from Internet.) Unlike today.

Reluctantly, Belladonna turned around to go back through all the crowds she'd taken so long to shove through, meeting Juliette on the way. They found Arianna standing in front of the library along with the twins, who looked so worried and just plain _terrified _that Belladonna wondered what was going on. Arianna looked equally clueless, but didn't seem to want to pry. Belladonna decided not to ask either - for the time being, at least. She meant to help the twins as best as possible, no matter what the situation they might be in - just as they had helped her, once before. Belladonna was sure they would tell her if she asked, but she wasn't sure if they wanted to tell Arianna and the others, too.

Belladonna decided to address the present (though not most pressing) issue first, and cleared her throat. "Was there something you needed, Arianna?"

Arianna suddenly seemed to snap out of a trance, and jumped slightly. "What? Uh .. oh, I just wanted to discuss the project that's due in three days - _three days, _can you believe it?" Belladonna was also rather surprised, but she thought she understood - after all, Ms. Donnell must have been running short on time to grade things and plan out lessons for everyone ...

"Nonsense," Arianna scoffed when Belladonna told her, then realized what she'd just said and quickly tried to make amends. "I mean, she's most _definitely _trying to torture us to death!"

"So how are we going to do this?" Juliette piped up. Straight to the point as always. People might look at the five friends and say Belladonna was the calmest and coolest of them all, but in reality it was Juliette. Belladonna simply could not compare to her while under any amount of physical or emotional stress.

Arianna offered her house as a meeting place, and Belladonna noticed that upon hearing this, the twins visibly sagged with relief. So was this about finding a place to stay? What if it had something to do with their family ...

"Are we walking there?" Juliette asked then, and the twins tensed up ever so slightly - they'd hid it better this time. That could only mean - someone might be following them if they left the school. And for that, Belladonna had a solution.

"Wait a second," she said. "If there's a problem with walking ... You all know cousin James. Let me call him ..."

**I hope you liked this chapter, even if it was a bit short :P Please review and tell me what you think! :D**


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